Oldham Liberal Democrats have forced an emergency council vote on February 12 to pull the borough out of the controversial Places for Everyone housing scheme, reigniting a bitter dispute that has split the town hall since last summer.

The extraordinary meeting will decide whether Oldham formally writes to the Secretary of State requesting removal from the nine-borough plan that earmarks 170,000 new homes across Greater Manchester, including 11,500 in Oldham, many on protected greenbelt sites.

Deputy Lib Dem leader Sam Al-Hamdani, who tabled the motion, said: “This has been kicked down the road by the administration for nearly a year. PfE is part of a planning process that hands the keys over to developers and hopes that they will happen to build the houses we want instead of the most profitable ones for them. That will never work for people.”

The proposed developments target greenbelt land at Beal Valley, Bottom Field Farm, Broadbent Moss, south of Coal Pit Lane, and south of Rosary Road. Council leader Arooj Shah dismissed the withdrawal bid as “reckless,” while housing chief Elaine Taylor has defended the scheme, arguing that sacrificing limited greenbelt would secure stronger protections for remaining open spaces.

The clash follows an August vote that opponents believed committed Oldham to leaving Places for Everyone, though the administration insisted a separate motion was required. The February 12 meeting comes immediately after another emergency session demanded by Conservatives over the borough’s child sexual exploitation inquiry, prompting one councillor to warn that combining “the two most controversial issues” in one evening could prove explosive.

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